Chapter 323: The Future’s Uncertainty

Chapter 323: The Future’s Uncertainty

Mid Evening - Mid Winter : The Ancient Wreckage, Southwestern Holy Kingdom

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*fwoooosh* "Brother.. how do you know so much about the stars?" Krystallo's voice carried a mix of awe and curiosity, her scales catching the ethereal glow of the scarred moon above as we glided over the vast, shadow-draped forest below.

A smile came to my face as I was reminded of the countless nights we spent under the stars as children. "Well, I've spent a lot of time studying them!"

"But.. how do you know that each speck of light is a giant blazing fireball hurtling through the empty expanse of space?"

"That's all thanks to their light! By breaking down the light emitted from a star into its base parts, you can see what the star is made of, how old it is, and even how fast and in what direction it's moving."

Her eyes widened with wonder as she turned to look at me. "H..how though... Where would you even start?"

Swiftly creating a small piece of glass, I handed it to her. "You start by using something called a prism, like this piece of glass, and because different wavelengths travel at different speeds, you can separate them based on how much they bend; then, all you need to do is limit the light passing into the prism so it's just the light of the star and boom."

Her tail flicked excitedly as she held it to her eye and looked down at the soft glow in my scales. "Oh, we did actually learn about these! They taught us how to use them to help us find issues with our light magic that our eyes alone couldn't see."

I immediately raised an eyebrow as I glanced back at her. -That's actually really smart...- "Like to improve the accuracy of your illusion spells?"

"Exactly!" Her excitement was simply infectious. "And according to our teacher, maybe even to give light magic the ability to heal wounds in the future!"

-Huh? Does she mean, like.. disinfection with UV?- I tilted my head slightly as I thought about it, but I still drew a blank. "You'll have to show me sometime. I'm not sure I know much about that."

Glee instantly washed over her face. "Hehe, okay!"

But as her contagious joy started spreading to me, my expression stiffened. -What the...-

We were still about a hundred kilometers from the wreckage, but even still, I sensed a presence I could instantly recognize belonging to a dragon. -Without being able to read my aura it's a bit hard to tell, but it feels like someone.. is in the wreckage?-

At such a distance and without the ability to read my aura, it was a bit hard to tell its exact location. -But they're in that general area and are barely moving... I wonder if it's someone from the Intelligence Agency. Maybe they stumbled across it after I pointed them toward where the crawler was...-

But the closer we got, the more oddities I found.

Their aura was quite small, maybe only on par with an old adult-stage dragon, and was quite poorly controlled as if it were a human mage or perhaps a young dragon with far more aura than they could handle. -But if they're that young.. what are they doing all the way out here, all alone? Just a few of those big wyverns could do them in...-

It didn't make sense no matter how I twisted it, but the closer we got, the more my curiosity grew. -It's a shame I won't be able to speak with them...-

*Fwoosh-Fwoosh* *Fwoosh-thump* "Hm? Why are we landing here?" Krystallo looked around with a blend of curiosity and caution as we finally landed in the relatively small clearing.

"Well, this is the other thing I brought you here to see." As Ilios hopped off my back and stretched, I looked back at her excitedly. "Have you ever wondered if there was a way to travel between stars?"

Not quite understanding me, she tilted her head slightly before a mix of countless expressions blew across her face. "H..huh?!"

As I moved her off my back, I honestly wanted to laugh. She clearly picked up what I was alluding to, even if it was a little cruel. "Sorry to get your hopes up, but this doesn't have that ability anymore."

She immediately looked at me like she was upset, as if I had lied to her.

But it wasn't for the reason I thought. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'ANYMORE'?!"

-Ah...- I felt an awkward, cold bead of sweat instantly form on my forehead.

"SINCE WHEN COULD WE EVER DO THAT?!"

Quickly moving my wing over her, I pressed it down on her head to try and calm her down, but she just pouted. "It's a little hard to explain at the moment, but for now, just know that this is a relic from the great war, alright?"

He looked down at the medallion in a daze for a moment before finally looking back up at me with a gleam of hope in his eyes. "The Ragnarok.. family?" Seeing me nonchalantly nod, he looked back down at the medallion and fell into thought. But after a moment, he simply bowed and held out the medallion. "I apologize..." He spoke without a hint of a stutter.

-Hm?- I raised my eyebrow as I looked over at him. "What are you apologizing for?"

But his bow didn't waver. "I cannot accept your offer..." He looked up with a flicker of confusion mingling with determination in his eyes. "I appreciate your offer, truly. But my journey to find the Phoenix is mine alone... As I am currently, I am nothing but a burden, so please forgive my rudeness in refusing."

But I wasn't understanding. "Okay? But what are you giving me the medallion for? Should you ever give up on your path, the Ragnarok family will welcome your talents. Keep it."

"H-Huh?" He looked at me, confused, as if kindness was foreign to him before pulling the medallion back toward his chest. "I will not forget this!"

"Mhm, just don't die, kid." Finally motioning him off, he changed back to his dragon form and quickly took to the air.

As he flew away, Krystallo stared at his back with a blend of intrigue and confusion on her face. "Brother, do you really think he'll find what he's looking for?"

I immediately shrugged my wings. "The journey is more important than the destination sometimes. He clearly has some inner turmoils.. if his journey settles them, does he need to find the Phoenix?"

Krystallo's gaze turned to me as she sank into thought.

But I was quick to continue. "In any case, let's get back to what we were doing. You ready to go inside the wreckage?"

Finally finding our way into the wreckage, Krystallo's excitement quickly returned and grew. Each piece of twisted metal and fragmented technology was a story in itself, a relic of a time long gone.

As expected, her questions flowed endlessly, as if a large lake had finally caused the dam to burst, but while I didn't know too much about the Acardi either, I wove tales of their ingenuity and the wonders they had achieved.

The wreckage was more than just a pile of old metal; it was a testament to the reach and ambition of a civilization that had dared to touch the stars. And as we explored, I couldn't help but feel a sense of connection to these long-gone innovators, their dreams and aspirations seemingly echoing through time.

But the wreckage was only so large.

After a while, the moon climbed higher in the sky, its light casting long, eerie shadows across the wreckage site, and we finally made our way back outside, a new sense of inspiration and fascination dwelling in our minds.

We had simply spent hours lost in the stories the outside world had long-since forgotten, pondering tales that had ended long ago.

But unlike those, as we left the wreckage behind, heading back into the night sky, we knew that our journey was just beginning.

At that moment, we just had each other, but neither of us had a mutter of complaint.

All I could hope for was that I was finally strong enough to guide her to the future she hoped for so dearly, to fly among the stars with me.

But.. the future was always a mysterious thing. Even if you could see it, even the slightest differences could alter it. -And after experiencing the strength of Dagr's soul alone.. I know I still have a long way to go... But...- Looking up at the stars, my mind felt at ease. -It's not so bad spending some time like this too...-

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